Hans Koch, a martyr, probably Waldensian, who was put to death with Leonhard Meister at Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany, in 1524. He is the author of the oldest song in the Ausbund, "Ach Gott, Vater im höchsten Thron." His further identity has not yet been clarified. Samuel Cramer identifies Koch and Meister with Hans Kag and a Speiser or Pfoster, both of whom were beheaded as revolutionaries at Augsburg in 1524 (Uhlhorn). But such an identification is today considered dubi­ous. None of these names is found in the Hutterite Chronicle.

Braght, Thieleman J. van. The Bloody Theatre or Martyrs' Mirror of the Defenseless Christians Who Baptized Only upon Confession of Faith and Who Suffered and Died for the Testimony of Jesus Their Saviour . . . to the Year A.D. 1660:413 f. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1951.